Genesis
by witchwinx
Summary: She's a kunoichi with big dreams and a mind of her own. He's a ninja with one desire he'll do anything to achieve: revenge. When their paths cross comes rivalry, friendship, competition, comradeship, betrayal, loyalty and a bond that defines them. Follows canon, but with Sakura as main character, playing Naruto's role.
1. The Beginning

**Hey all! Just wanted to basically explain the idea of this story - Naruto itself is centred around the relationship between Naruto and Sasuke so I wanted to write a fic that matched the story of Naruto but focussed on the relationship between Sasuke and Sakura. But, since Sakura's pretty lame in the actual anime I have ****basically given her Naruto's role and many of his attributes (but not all) and Naruto, though he still boisterous and loud, etc. is no where near as awesome as in the anime. So yeah they've basically swapped roles. The story would ideally be in anime form and that's how I imagine it in my head, so try to imagine it really happening as an anime as you read. And last but not least, please review! **

Ino was running. She ran faster than she ever had before. She didn't even allow herself to crane her neck to look at the distance between her and those following her. She had to win. She had to get there first...

And she was there!

"SASUKE!" she screamed looking at the boy sitting in front of her, his hands clasped beneath his chin, his onyx eyes gazing at the front of the classroom with an expression of almost painful indifference. His eyes gradually made their way around to face her, the rest of him unmoving. Under his gaze, Ino felt herself blushing madly.

"Umm, so Sasuke? Could I sit here?" she gestured at the seat next to him.

"HEY! I got here first! I'm sitting next to Sasuke!" an irritatingly whiny voice piped up next to Ino.

"No you did not!"

"Yeah, I did!" another girl exclaimed.

"Did not!"

A large crowd of girls began arguing and shouting their loudest to be heard. Amongst the squabbling none of them noticed a flash of pink pass through their midst.

Having had enough of arguing, Ino decided she was going to sit in that seat whether she had reached it first or not.

"Well I don't care! I'm sitting here!" she proclaimed loudly and turned around to take her seat.

She gasped. A host of protestations died away in gasps that matched hers.

In the seat was sitting a girl with pink hair and large green eyes that stared at the board of the classroom with an expression of such boredom it seemed she would fall asleep any moment.

"Excuse me!" Ino said in an outraged tone. "I was going to sit there!"

The girls turned towards Ino her expression unchanged.

"There are no more seats at the back and I'm not sitting at the front so sorry."

"But I got here first!"

The girl's eyes narrowed.

"Too bad." she turned away from Ino and slumped onto the desk. "You snooze you lose." she murmured.

In the corner, Sasuke tried to prevent a small smile from gracing his lips. Who was this strange girl?

Ino was scandalized.

"Listen here you little... Freak! With a huge forehead!"

The girl lifted herself up slowly and turned to Ino with ice in her eyes.

"What did you just say?" she asked in a dangerously low voice.

Ino glared right back at her.

"I said, you're a freak with a gigantic forehead!"

The girl simply stood there. A triumphant expression began to creep into Ino's face. Sasuke pretended not to watch from the corner of his eye. Suddenly, the girl lunged forward and punched Ino straight in the face, knocking her to the ground. Everyone gasped.

"Thanks Pinky, now get out of my seat!" a brown haired girl named Ami said.

"What is it with you people and this seat? Haven't I already said I'm not moving? Beat it." the girl replied in exasperation.

"But it's MY seat! I want to sit next to Sasuke!"

Comprehension suddenly dawned in the girl's eyes. She turned to the expressionless boy next to her.

"HE's the reason you all want to sit here?"

Sasuke couldn't help but twitch an eyebrow at the incredulous tone in which this was said.

"Yes, now get out of my seat!" Ami cried.

"He looks like a grouch to me!"

Sasuke turned to the girl with narrowed eyes. She was staring at him curiously as if he were some kind of interesting insect. He had almost begun to like this girl before this!

"Well you can certainly have him! You can't however have this seat as it is the last seat at the back, as I have already told you." The girl said to Ami. Ami's jaw dropped open with outrage.

By this time Ino had recovered from the girl's punch and hearing the girl insult Sasuke, she knew that it was time to get revenge.

"How dare you call Sasuke a grouch!" she screamed and threw her fist at the girl's face.

However, today was not Ino's day. The girl nimbly skipped out of Ino's way. It was too late for Ino to retract and she simply continued to lunge forward until her fist made contact with... Sasuke's face.

The girl let out a peal of delighted laughter as Ino gasped, horrified and began to repeat "Oh my god, I'm so sorry Sasuke!" so many times her words became incoherent.

Sasuke simply glowered at nothing in particular and gritted his teeth, a bruise developing on his left jaw.

Suddenly, a shout of laughter came from the desk directly below Sasuke's.

"Sasuke got beat up by a girl!" a boy with spiky blond hair, bright blue eyes and an abnormally loud voice exclaimed.

Sasuke, his pride already wounded, was not ready to take this. "Shut up Naruto you idiot." He growled.

"Ha ha ha! You are SUCH a pansy!"

That was too much for Sasuke. He lunged forward and hit Naruto in the face.

"Oi you bastard!" Naruto shouted and threw himself at Sasuke...

Only to be stopped by Iruka-sensei.

"Naruto! Sasuke! What on earth are you doing!"

Without invitation, Ino shouted, "She started it!" pointing at the pink haired girl. She in turn looked at Ino in amazement.

"What?! I did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"That's enough!" Iruka-sensei interrupted. "Naruto, Sasuke, Ino, Sakura, stay behind after class. Now let's begin the lesson."

Four jaws dropped. A chorus of "What?!" "But Iruka-sensei!" and "It wasn't my fault!" broke out.

"Enough! I don't want to hear it. You're all staying behind today."

Even as Sasuke returned to his seat with a sullen expression, he thought, "So her name's Sakura." He took a sidelong glance at the girl who had in fact managed not to be evicted from the seat next to him and was staring at the board as if it were her arch nemesis. At least she was different from all the other annoying girls.

"This is all your fault." he suddenly heard her hiss as she turned towards him with daggers in her eyes.

"My fault?!" he replied incredulously.

"Yeah! You should have just moved and then they would have left me in this seat in peace!"

"And why the hell would I do that?!" Sasuke said, the irritation in his voice becoming more pronounced.

"Because-"

"Sasuke! Sakura! Be quiet! How many times am I going to have to tell you off?"

Two "Hmph!"s sounded simultaneously as the pair turned pointedly away from each other.

Just when he thought he had found a girl who was not that annoying. How utterly and completely wrong he had been.


	2. Try

**Hello again everyone :) hope you like this chapter and please review. Also, I will often recommend you tracks (usually from the Naruto soundtrack) ****which go with the chapter, to make a more atmospheric reading, so for this chapter, it's 'Naruto's Daily Life' for the first part and 'Alone' for the second part.**

**Banglamiss: That is exactly why I wanted to write this story! As a female member of the audience, it annoys me that the heroine of the anime is quite useless, so I wanted to write a version where she isn't. Well at least someone understands me! ;)**

Four pairs of eyes glared ferociously at the face of Iruka-sensei. He gulped. He plucked up his courage and decided that attack was the best form of defense.

"Now Sakura, this is your first day in the Academy and you have already been in a fight! That is no way to start your life here in Konoha! What would the Sandaime say?"

"But it wasn't my fault!" Sakura cried out.

"Yes it was! You started all of it." Ino spat out viciously.

"No she didn't!" Naruto broke in unexpectedly, grinning widely at the surprised Sakura, "Sasuke just got owned by a girl and decided to punch me because I told everyone he was gay and he was trying to keep it a secret."

Sakura tried in vain to smother a loud guffaw, as Sasuke turned to glower at Naruto.

"That is not what happened!" Ino cried at the same time as Sasuke growled, "That is not what happened."

"Meh well it's as much as Iruka-sensei needs to know," Naruto yawned, "and, now that that's all cleared up, I'm out of here!" And before Iruka-sensei could say a word, Naruto had leapt out of the classroom window and vanished.

Sakura looked after Naruto and then glanced furtively at Iruka-sensei's astonished face.

"Well, I guess we're all done here!" she said and followed Naruto out of the window.

Before long, Iruka-sensei was left alone, his mouth hanging open, and a massive sweatdrop sliding down his head.

Outside the Academy building, the four students stood.

"So, Sakura! You're new to Konoha!" Naruto said loudly. Sakura nodded, smiling, in response. "Well, let me show ya round then!"

"Sure!" Sakura grinned, "You're obviously the only civilized person around here." She said, looking pointedly at Sasuke and Ino. Sasuke was almost unable to contemplate the vast inaccuracy of that statement.

Naruto burst into laughter. "You got that right! Now let's go. The number one most important place in Konoha would be Ichiraku's ramen. I spend most of my time there trying out different types of ramen. You get all sorts including miso, soya sauce and…"

Sasuke watched the boisterous pair walk away with contempt in his eyes.

Suddenly, an irritatingly high-pitched voice piped up next to him.

"So, I guess it's just you and me, huh Sasuke?"

He let out a barely concealed sound of disgust and stomped away towards his home in the opposite direction without a word.

"So I'll sit next to you tomorrow?" Ino called after him hopefully.

Why were girls always so annoying?

* * *

On the next day, Sasuke entered the classroom to find Sakura in the seat he always sat in. He strode towards her purposefully with narrowed eyes.

"That's my seat." He hissed.

"Too bad!" she said in a singsong voice.

"What do you mean "too bad"? That's MY seat."

"Um… does it have your name on it?" she pretended to look about herself at the seat for a few seconds. "Nope, didn't think so."

Sasuke threateningly took a step forward… simply to be thrust out of the way.

"Sakura! Can I sit here?" Naruto asked, gesturing to the seat next to Sakura with an enormous grin on his face.

"Sure!" Sakura grinned back at him.

Sasuke had no time to express his outrage, as Iruka-sensei entered the room.

"OK everyone, sit down!" he said. He noticed that Sasuke was standing in the middle of the room with a murderous expression in his eyes. "Sasuke why are you standing up? Sit down!"

A multitude of sickeningly feminine voices rose up. "Oh, Sasuke! You can sit next to me!"

Sasuke shuddered and accepted defeat. As he sat down next to one of his innumerable worshippers, he glared at Naruto and Sakura, who were concealing their uncontrollable laughter at his misfortune very badly indeed.

"Ok, settle down now. Today, in light of the fact that your Academy exams are coming up soon, we're going to do practice exams. As you know, the test you will have to pass in order to become a Genin, a fully fledged shinobi, is to produce a fully functioning shadow clone. So to start off, everyone line up at the front."

The grumbling class formed a line at the front of the class.

"When I call your name, come to the front and form a shadow clone in the form of our leader, the great Sandaime. Ok, let's start with Shino Aburame."

One by one, each of the class came to front and produced shadow clones which exactly resembled the Third Hokage. When Sasuke's turn came, he fulfilled the task effortlessly, forming the hand signs at record speed, and even producing two clones instead of the required one.

"Very good Sasuke, but you only needed to form one shadow clone." Iruka-sensei said.

"Two was just as easy." Sasuke said shrugging, and then lounged back onto a desk at the back of the classroom where all the people who had completed the task were standing, earning sighs of adoration from most of the females in the room. There was of course, one notable exception. Sakura wrinkled her nose at him and muttered, "Show off."

It was then Sakura's turn. A smug smile worked itself onto her face. Sasuke watched as she performed the hand signs even faster than he had, and three faultless shadow clones appeared. Murmurs of admiration began to spread around the class, pointedly avoiding Sasuke and his worshippers. Sasuke simply glared at Sakura as she walked smugly over to back of the room.

"Show off." He muttered under his breath.

"Excuse me?" he saw Sakura standing right in front of him with raised eyebrows.

"I could have made four." Sasuke said, never ceasing to glare at her.

"And I could have made five!" Sakura said tauntingly. She stuck her tongue out at Sasuke and settled down onto a desk at the back of the classroom.

"And last of all, Naruto Uzumaki." Iruka-sensei called out.

Naruto walked to the front of the classroom with a nervous grin on his face. He performed the hand signs and… a clone appeared. But not a clone like the others had produced. This was a totally dysfunctional clone, sprawled across the floor with drool coming out of its mouth. The class burst into laughter.

"Naruto you're hilarious!" Kiba shouted.

Sakura joined in on the mirth of the rest of the class. Naruto grinned sheepishly.

"Stop fooling around Naruto! I want to see you produce a real clone!" Iruka-sensei exclaimed.

"I bet he can't actually produce one." Sasuke muttered spitefully.

Sakura, whose sharp ears caught everything, smacked the back of Sasuke's head.

"Ow!" he exclaimed, turning to face her.

"That's what you get for being mean about one of my friends!" Sakura glowered.

"Whatever." Sasuke said sullenly, turning back to the front of the class, where Naruto stood nervously.

"Go on Naruto!" Sakura shouted encouragingly.

"Yeah, get on with it! We don't have all day!" Choji said, impatiently.

Naruto gulped and performed the hand signs again, rather falteringly. The resulting clone was identical to the first one he had produced.

Titters of laughter began to spread across the classroom, this time more malicious.

Naruto, sweating, repeated the hand signs once more, but to no avail. The clone was just as bad as the first two. He hung his head in despair.

By now, the class was rocking with scornful laughter, and fingers pointed contemptuously at Naruto.

"He can't even produce a shadow clone!" someone cried.

Sasuke smirked. He turned to gloat at Sakura, but she was not looking at him. She had stood up and was staring at Naruto, her eyes full of consternation.

"Naruto, stop it! Make an actual clone!" she cried.

Sasuke looked at her with contempt. 'She still believes he's doing it on purpose! What an idiot.'

"I can't…" Naruto said, his voice shaking with shame. He looked up at the class that jeered and mocked him and his eyes filled with tears. He tried the hand signs again, focusing all his energy into them, but it was no use. At the sight of the fourth failed shadow clone, the class almost exploded with laughter.

"That's enough!" Iruka-sensei shouted, but with no effect. The class continued to jeer. Naruto ran out of the room in mortification.

"Be quiet!" Iruka-sensei tried in vain to settle the class down, but they were enjoying themselves too much. Sasuke simply smirked to himself.

Suddenly, a voice rang out through the room.

"SHUT. UP."

Sasuke looked up to see Sakura standing at the front of the classroom, her chest heaving.

The laughter began to quieten down.

'What is wrong with you all?!" she said, her voice laden in disgust. "Can't you see he's trying? Haven't you ever been told not to kick a man when he's down? Especially your own comrade! I haven't been here long, but if that's the way of the great Hidden Leaf Village, I wish I had never come here!" she turned around and sailed out of the classroom.

An uneasy silence followed this speech as the class looked at each other guiltily. Sasuke glared at his feet. 'Self-righteous fool.' he thought, or rather tried to think. In his heart, he knew she was right.

"She's right." Iruka-sensei said calmly. "You should all be ashamed of yourselves. That is certainly NOT the way of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and I am disgusted with the example you just set."

The uncomfortable silence weighing down on the class was suffocating.

"But, nevertheless, I can't allow them to simply leave the class. Sasuke, you already know what we're about to learn, so would you please go and bring them back while we start on the next part of the lesson."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. 'It's always me.' he thought as he walked out of the classroom. He walked around the grounds of the Academy at a leisurely pace. He was not going to be hurried by those two losers.

As he neared a copse of trees, he heard voices.

"No matter how hard I try, I just can't do it!" he heard Naruto say with a shaky voice.

"Yes you can!"

He heard a sound of disagreement come from Naruto. "I can't. They're right. I'm a loser."

"Well if you're determined to take that attitude, then fine. You are a loser."

A small intake of breath came from Naruto, signaling his surprise.

"The only way not to be a loser is not to act like one! You HAVE to try. Or you'll never be able to do it!"

"But I have tried!"

"Well try, try and try again! Come on, get up!"

Sasuke peered through the trees at them. He saw Naruto stand up slowly. The pair performed the hand signs simultaneously. Sakura's clone was perfect, but Naruto's was once again sprawled across the floor.

"Again!" Sakura cried.

'Hopeless.' Sasuke thought, shaking his head. But, he took one more look at them, and then turned around and walked away.

When Iruka-sensei asked him why he had not brought them back as he re-entered the classroom, he replied, "I couldn't find them."


	3. Friends

**Hey everyone, here's a new chapter for you all. My recommended tracks for this chapter are 'Daylight of Konoha' for the beginning, 'Morning' for the middle, and 'Sakura Season' for the end. Hope you enjoy, and don't forget to review!**

"Today is the day of your Academy final exams. Today, you all have the chance to show how far you have come since you started at the Academy. Today, you will all have the opportunity to become true shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village, and make this village proud of you." Iruka-sensei concluded and stood back. "Now, you all know the drill. Stand forward when I call your name."

The students were called one by one to perform the jutsu. After each success came clapping and cheering from the other members of the class, and the student was handed their headband with the Leaf Village's insignia on it.

Sasuke's turn went off without a hitch and he took his headband from Iruka-sensei emotionlessly while most of the female population of the room went wild with applause.

Sakura's turn also had no problems. She smiled with excitement as Iruka-sensei handed her her headband.

"I won't let you down!" she proclaimed.

"I'm sure you won't!" Iruka-sensei laughed.

Sasuke stared at Sakura. She was so strange! He shook his head.

When Naruto's turn came, most of the class looked at the floor abashedly as he walked to the front with a nervous expression. Sasuke glanced at Sakura. She was looking at Naruto serenely.

As Naruto took his stance, he looked at Sakura. She gave him a small nod.

He shut his eyes and took a deep breath. He performed the hand signs almost as rapidly as Sasuke had, and before everyone's eyes appeared the perfect image of the Hokage. Gasps of shock were audible around the class, and deafening applause began to ring out in the classroom. Sasuke looked at Sakura, who was looking at Naruto with pride on her face. How could she have done it?!

Naruto, at first unable to believe that he had actually passed the exam, was then ecstatic, and ran around the room in excitement with his headband.

"Now settle down," Iruka-sensei said with laughter and a trace of bemusement in his voice. "Today, you have all passed the exam, and I can now proclaim you all Genin!"

The class roared with approval, and Sasuke saw Naruto look at Sakura, his eyes shining with gratitude.

Then a stampede occurred as everyone rushed outside to go home and tell their parents the good news.

Sasuke was as stoical as ever as he began to walk outside, his hands in his pockets.

"How about some ramen, Naruto?" he heard Iruka-sensei say to Naruto.

"Sure! Let me just see if I can find Sakura." Naruto looked around. "Sakura!"

Sasuke continued outside the classroom and began to walk home. On his way he saw Sakura sauntering down the road. She smirked at him.

"Told you you were wrong about him." She said smugly.

"Why did you do it?" he asked suddenly, the words coming out before he had even thought through them.

"Do what?" Sakura asked in surprise.

"Help him. There's no way he would have been able to do that without your help."

Sakura's face cleared. "Because he's my friend of course!" she said, looking at Sasuke as if he were an idiot.

Then they heard a voice shout "Sakura!". Both heads turned simultaneously to see Naruto running down the road. "Sakura, come to Ichiraku's! Iruka-sensei's treat!"

"Ok then!" she said. "See ya round, sucker!" she stuck her tongue out at Sasuke and ran back in the direction of the Academy with Naruto.

Sasuke glared after them. 'Immature freak.'

But as he turned around and continued on the way to his home, he thought about what she had said.

"_Because he's my friend of course!"_

He shook his head. 'Whatever.'

* * *

The next day dawned bright and clear. Sakura lay on her bed, her hands behind her head, and a smile on her face. Today was the day it all really started. Today she would begin life as a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village and make her village proud. Most of all, she would be able to make him proud, the one who had brought her out of her solitude in Suna to be educated as a shinobi in Konoha. A soft smile played with her lips as she contemplated the old man whom they all revered so much and who was the pillar of the village. She remembered that day so clearly, the day when this strange old man had come to see her in Suna. At first, she had not trusted him. Why should she have? Nobody else had ever shown her kindness. But the old man had told her how sorry he was that she had been left alone for so long. He told her it was all a mistake. He had begun training her as a shinobi. He had taught her everything she knew. When he had left for the first time, Sakura had cried. But, he told her that he couldn't leave his village alone for so long, and eventually he had managed to pacify her with promises that he would come back soon and that, as soon as he could, he would take her back with him.

And he had. Although that didn't happen until several visits later, the day finally came when the Sandaime had told her that, this time, she could come back with him to his village, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. And that had been the happiest moment of her life.

And now she was here! And she had become a Genin, and she was going to make the Sandaime proud. And maybe one day, far in the future, when he was choosing his successor… maybe, just maybe she would have a chance.

With a sigh, she threw off her blanket and got ready for the day.

Soon, she was strolling down the road towards the Academy, where they would be assigned their squads and senseis. Suddenly, she noticed a speck of black in the corner of her eye. She turned her head slightly to see Sasuke walking parallel with her on the other side of the road. He caught sight of her at the same time as she saw him and they both glared at each other before turning away from each other pointedly.

Sakura began to walk a little faster. To her annoyance she noticed that Sasuke had done the same and was not behind her. She increased her pace a little further, but he did the same. This continued until both of them were sprinting down the road at full speed. Sakura saw the door of the Academy. She was almost there! She could see that Sasuke had further to go since he was on the other side of the road, and she knew that she would get there first. She began to smile triumphantly.

Suddenly, she collided with a wall of blond.

"Watch where you're going billboard brow!" Ino screeched.

"Get out the way, pig!" Sakura said, not even bothering to respond to Ino's taunt. She shoved her out of the way, to Ino's intense indignation, and continued to the door. However, it was too late. That slight interruption to Sakura's journey was all Sasuke had needed to overtake her and enter the building, smirking back at her.

Panting, Sakura stomped up to him.

"That… is not fair… I… would have been… first." Sakura jabbed Sasuke in the chest with her finger.

"Well too bad." Sasuke said nonchalantly. "You're still a loser."

"You… little…"

"SAKURA!" Naruto ran out from behind Sasuke, pushing him and causing him to lose his balance. He swayed, unable to right himself, and he fell forward.

A deathly silence ensued. Everyone's mouth hung impossibly wide open.

In the middle of the room, Sasuke stood, with his lips on Sakura's. Both of their faces turned an intense red.

Then the chaos began.

Sasuke felt his face graced with a crushing blow from Sakura's fist, which sent him flying across the room.

"EWWWWWW! GET OFF ME YOU PIG!" Sakura screamed, quite unnecessarily.

Sasuke glowered at her, half of his face a bright red, and the other a deep purple. "That was Naruto's fault. Like I would EVER kiss you." He growled.

"WHATever." She spat out and grimaced as if she had just eaten excrement. "I'm going to wash my mouth out!" she stormed off to the washroom.

The entire female population of the school stared, aghast, unable to believe what they had just seen.

Naruto began to laugh uncontrollably. Sasuke gave him a bone-crushing whack on his head and then stormed into the classroom.

"HEY YOU LITTLE-"

Naruto tried to follow him, but he was foiled by a massive crowd of girls who were rushing to the area where Sakura had just emerged from the washroom.

"HOW DARE YOU KISS SASUKE!"

"I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SASUKE'S FIRST KISS!"

"Well it's not exactly like I tried! He practically assaulted me! There's nothing I wanted less than to be Sasuke's first kiss!" Sakura said in disgust.

But there was no reasoning with the rabid crowd of girls. Sakura sighed. "Guess it'll have to be the hard way then."

A few minutes later, she dusted her hands clean and walked away from a huge pile of girls strewn on top of each other. She walked serenely into the classroom, followed by Naruto, who was rather awed by what he had just seen, and they sat down.

Iruka-sensei soon emerged from the door on the other side of the classroom.

"Where is everyone?" he asked, frowning, seeing that Sakura was the only girl in the classroom.

"Oh they'll be here soon." Sakura said dismissively.

Soon enough, bedraggled girls with their usually perfectly done hair now all over the place began to file into the classroom and sit down.

Iruka wondered if there was something wrong with his eyesight. 'I'm going to have to get my eyes checked.' he thought to himself.

"Ok, now that you're all here," he said aloud, "I will tell you the squads you have been assigned to. After that, each squad will meet their sensei. After that, it is up to the sensei what you will do. So let's begin…" he began reading out he list of squad members. Sakura watched as people filed to the front and stood in the groups of three to which they had been assigned, waiting with baited breath to hear her own name. 'I hope I'm with someone nice! As long as it's not Ino or, worse, Sasuke.' She glared at the latter through the corner of her eye, and found him already glaring at her. They turned away from each other with the customary "Hmph!"

"And Team 7 is Sakura Haruno,…" Sakura held her breath, "…Naruto Uzumaki,…" Naruto cheered and held up his hand for Sakura to high-five. Sakura grinned. She couldn't believe her luck! "…and Sasuke Uchiha."

Three mouths dropped open. Three genin slumped onto their desks. "I'm doomed." three genin groaned simultaneously.


	4. BOOM! BANG! CRASH! and click!

**Heya everybody, here's the newest chapter of Genesis, containing the first action scenes! Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last few - it's a real inspiration to write. Hope you all enjoy this one, and please take the time to review! **

**Banglamiss: sorry I forgot to reply in my last chapter! I'm not going to reveal exactly how the plot's going to go now, but if it all goes well I will do a sequel. It ****might be further from the plot of the actual anime that this story is though. Thanks for reviewing hope you like this one :)**

A pink head and a black head were turned pointedly away from each other. A blond head was clasped in hands in between them. The sound of feet tapping on the ground echoed through the clearing of trees in which the three people sat.

Suddenly, a voice broke the rhythmic sound of the tapping.

"Stop that." Sasuke snapped.

"What?" Sakura said immediately, almost as if she had been waiting for him to speak.

"That stupid tapping."

Sakura raised her eyebrows and began to tap even louder.

"Why are you SO annoying?"

"Because you're a stinky old grouch!"

"Ahem..." the three whizzed around to see a man with spiky silver hair and a mask covering half of his face standing in the clearing.

'I didn't even notice him! How did he get here so quietly?' Sasuke thought to himself.

"I am your new sensei. My name is Kakashi Hatake."

"You're pretty late Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura said loudly.

"Oh sorry about that," he said calmly, "I was lost on the road of life."

Three mouths dropped open and sweatdrops appeared on the heads of all three Genin.

"Well, I can see that you are already acquainted," he looked at Sakura and Sasuke with raised eyebrows, causing them to glare at each other, "but since this is the first time I have met you, let's start with some introductions. I want you all to say your name, followed by things you like, things you dislike, and what your dream is. Let's start with you." he gestured towards Naruto.

"My name's Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto said with a toothy grin. "What I really like is ramen. I like all different types of ramen, and I like trying them out in my free time. What I don't like is days when I don't get to eat ramen. Those really suck. And my dream is to find an unlimited supply of ramen and try all the different types of ramen in the world."

Sakura and Sasuke's eyes twitched.

"Is it just me or is the word 'ramen' starting to sound weird to you?" Sakura muttered. Sasuke smirked in response but then remembered that he did not like Sakura and resumed glaring at her.

"Ok... Well, that's nice..." Kakashi-sensei said, "And what about you?" he pointed to Sakura.

"I'm Sakura Haruno," Sakura smiled. "I like... People who are friendly, and kind and helpful and try hard." she winked at Naruto. "I DON'T like grouchy people who think they're doing the world a favour by existing." She turned pointedly to Sasuke with a challenging expression. He simply narrowed his eyes in response. "And my dream is..." her eyes grew far away. "To serve this village as best I can and make everyone proud. And maybe one day... To be Hokage." Her eyes shone.

She was taken out of her reverie by a snort from Sasuke.

She turned to him, glaring, immediately resuming her belligerent air. "What?"

Sasuke simply turned towards her expressionlessly, as if he had no idea what she was talking about.

"If you have something to say then spit it out!"

"Ok, that's enough now." Kakashi-sensei interrupted. "Thank you very much Sakura. Now what about you?" the silver haired man turned to Sasuke.

"I am Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke deadpanned. "I don't particularly like anything. I particularly DISlike loud mouthed losers who think they know everything." He didn't even have to look at Sakura to feel her glare burning his face. "And my goal..." Sakura sensed a subtle shift in Sasuke's tone. He enunciated clearly, "...is to avenge my clan and destroy a certain someone." The air was suddenly laden with tension. Sasuke clasped his hands together and looked at the floor. All thoughts of annoying team members had left his mind. Sakura stared at Sasuke. Naruto gulped. 'I hope it's not me...' he thought.

"Well... Isn't that nice." Kakashi said awkwardly. "Thank you for sharing that with us Sasuke. Now that I've got to know a little bit about each of you, I think we can begin our training."

"Bring it on!" Sakura punched the air with her fist. Naruto grinned. Sasuke blinked emotionlessly.

"Now, have any of you just eaten?" Kakashi asked, his head tilted to one side.

Sakura blinked in surprise. "No…" The other two shook their heads as well.

"Great." Kakashi shut his eyes in a fake smile. "Ok then, let's begin."

A faint tinkling noise was heard in the clearing. Sakura narrowed her eyes.

"What is that?"

Kakashi-sensei then revealed what he was holding in his hand – two bells.

"Your task for today is very simple. Each one of you must take one of these bells from me before the sun sets. If you don't get a bell, you'll be tied up to one of those posts and forced to watch while I eat my dinner. Then you'll be left there overnight, and I'll be here in the morning to untie you just in time for breakfast."

All three of the genin gulped. Judging by how late he was today, it would be more like dinner the next day before he reached them.

"Oh yes, and of course, you'll be sent back to the Academy and won't reach the status of Genin."

Sakura's eyes widened. She clenched her fists. There was no way she'd let that happen.

"So shall we begin?" Kakashi looked around.

"Wait." Sasuke's emotionless voice sounded. "There are three of us and only two bells." Sakura frowned as she saw that he was right.

"Of course! That way, one of you will definitely end up tied to the post and sent back to the Academy."

Sakura gasped. Naruto gulped. Sasuke's lips tightened.

"Alright then, if everything's clear, begin!"

For a split second, nobody moved. Then Sakura and Sasuke disappeared.

'Guess they were scared…' Naruto gulped. 'Well this is my chance!' He snatched a kunai from his weapons pouch and ran towards Kakashi with a battle cry.

However, he was stopped instantly by Kakashi, who grabbed his head.

"Way to be obvious Naruto…" Kakashi yawned. Suddenly he felt a movement in the air behind him. His eyes widened and he whizzed around to see Naruto flying down at him from above. 'A shadow clone!' he thought. 'Good, but not good enough.' He smiled as he reached up and grabbed the head of the clone. He spun around, spinning the two Narutos at high speed, until he formed a whirlpool of Naruto, at which point he let go, causing the two to fly into the distance. He sighed and settled down against a tree, taking out his copy of Icha Icha Paradise.

From inside the trees, Sasuke looked down at him with narrowed eyes. Naruto had actually managed to create quite a good diversion, but Kakashi had not even broken a sweat whilst dealing with both Narutos. Sasuke watched as he leaned casually against a tree, his head buried in a book. Now was his chance.

Sakura watched Kakashi-sensei from inside a bush. She gritted her teeth. Now was her turn to strike.

But before she could move, a sound halted her in her tracks. Several shuriken whizzed through the air and embedded themselves in Kakashi-sensei. Sakura gasped. His body fell to the floor, unmoving. Sakura was paralysed, as she saw Sasuke come out into the clearing from the trees and walk tentatively towards Kakashi-sensei, his eyes wide. Just as he was about to reach him, a cloud of dust burst out around the body. When it cleared, a log containing shuriken sunk into it was revealed.

Sasuke gritted his teeth as Sakura's eyes widened. 'A substitution!'

Suddenly, Sakura gasped. Sasuke tensed at the same time, sensing the change in air pressure behind him, but before he could turn around, he heard a voice in his ear.

"Too slow."

Sakura watched as Kakashi-sensei kicked Sasuke, sending him flying. However, as Sasuke flew through the air, he managed to turn himself around. Kakashi saw him perform some hand signs. His eyes widened. 'Impossible.'

"Fire style: Fire Ball Jutsu!"

A huge ball of flame blossomed from Sasuke's mouth totally enveloping Kakashi-sensei. Sakura gasped. Sasuke managed to slow himself down until he reached a halt. He walked to the area he had just filled with his fireball jutsu, where the flames and smoke were now clearing. His eyes widened.

It was empty.

Sakura narrowed her eyes, perplexed. She had a full view of the area and had not seen Kakashi-sensei escape the fireball. Where could he be?

Sasuke, meanwhile, looked all around him but could not see Kakashi-sensei anywhere.

"Where are you?" he growled.

"Right here."

Sasuke drew in a sharp breath to hear the sound coming from underneath him and looked down to see Kakashi's hand emerging from the earth and grasping his foot. Suddenly, Sasuke felt himself being pulled downwards, and before he knew it, Kakashi-sensei was above ground, and had thrust him below the surface, his entire body except for his head.

"You have talent for sure." Kakashi said from above. "And you're definitely different. But who knows if that's a good thing?"

Sakura smiled slightly. Then she narrowed her eyes. It was now or never.

Sasuke gasped as all around Kakashi-sensei appeared clones of Sakura, too many to count. 'So many…'

Kakashi also raised an eyebrow. 'Multi shadow clone jutsu? What is it with these Genin and high level ninjutsu?'

All at once the clones converged on him and began attacking him. He deflected and returned the attacks easily, causing the clones to disintegrate one by one into clouds of dust. Suddenly, from amidst the dust, came a kunai. Kakashi dodged it simply to be greeted by another, which he deflected with his own. At the same time, numerous shadow clones threw themselves at him.

'Well, she's definitely making me multitask! But it's still not enough.' He dodged another kunai that was sailing towards him and heard it whistle past his ear. He saw a flash of white accompany it.

He frowned. 'Wait a second…'

Sasuke saw the area in which the large crowd of clones which had surrounded Kakashi-sensei suddenly erupt with a loud bang, uprooting many trees and enlarging the clearing to thee times its original size. He frowned. 'That sounded like a paper bomb… or rather, several paper bombs…'

As the smoke cleared, he saw Sakura emerge cautiously from the trees and step towards the cloud of smoke. However, as it cleared, there was no sign of Kakashi-sensei.

Sakura narrowed her eyes. 'No matter,' she thought, remembering Sasuke's fate, 'there's only one place he can be now.' She drew her fist up and looked down at the ground.

Sasuke stared at Sakura. What on earth did she hope to achieve by punching the ground? Even if Kakashi was under it, it would be highly unlikely that he was right below her feet, and even if he was, there was no way her punch would penetrate deep enough to reveal him!

Sakura's fist crashed down onto the ground. Sasuke drew in a breath and his eyes widened. All of the ground within a twenty metre radius of Sakura's fist was turned upside down, revealing a surprised Kakashi-sensei standing in the middle.

'How… is that… possible?!' Sasuke thought, staring at Sakura in shock.

'Her strength is unbelievable…' Kakashi thought with a raised eyebrow.

"Found you." Sakura said triumphantly. She ran straight at Kakashi-sensei, her hands performing the signs for shadow clone jutsu all the while. However, when she lunged out to punch him, Kakashi-sensei disappeared, leaving behind nothing but a log.

Sakura gritted her teeth. 'A substitution.' She whizzed around just in time to catch sight of Kakashi-sensei near the trees just behind Sasuke's head.

She immediately ran towards him, out into the part of the clearing she had not destroyed. However, just before she reached him she felt herself immobilized. With a gasp, she looked down at her feet to see Kakashi-sensei's hands grasping her feet.

"You're not the only one who can do shadow clone jutsu my dear." The Kakashi-sensei who stood next to Sasuke said, as the other rose up from below the ground. "Now, I'd better bury you before you knock me out with one of those punches!" The other broke in, and before she knew it, Sakura was buried neck-deep in the ground, just like Sasuke.

"Well, you two are full of surprises aren't you! But unfortunately for you, the sun will soon begin to set, and you still haven't touched either of these." He patted the two bells. "Well, I'm off for now." One Kakashi-sensei burst into smoke whilst the other took out his book and walked leisurely into the trees.

Both Sakura and Sasuke glared after him. Then they began to survey each other from the corner of their eyes. Each thought of what they had seen of the other, and both of them were grudgingly impressed.

'Fire style jutsu are supposed to be impossible for genin… they require far too much chakra… How did _he_ learn that?!' Sakura frowned.

'Multi shadow clone jutsu is a jounin level technique that requires incredible amounts of chakra… and that inhuman strength… just what exactly is she?!' Sasuke frowned.

'But, more importantly, the sun is setting…' Both of them looked with anxious eyes at the ball of fire whose bottom was just about to touch the horizon.

Suddenly, the trees rustled, and a blond head emerged. Naruto stumbled out of the trees, massaging his head. "Man did that hurt!" he complained loudly.

Suddenly, he caught sight of Sasuke and Sakura's heads.

"Naruto." Sakura said calmly.

"…WHAT THE HELL?!" Naruto screamed and began rushing around the heads waving his arms about. "SAKURA AND SASUKE ARE TALKING HEADS ON THE GROUND WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE OH MY…"

"NARUTO!" Sakura shouted. Naruto stopped in mid air. "Calm down. Kakashi-sensei just buried us beneath the ground. Now will you please help me out of here?"

"Why would he help you? We're competing against each other." Sasuke said cuttingly.

"Ah screw that!" Naruto said, striding over to Sakura. "Of course I'll help you!" He used a kunai to dig away the earth around Sakura's shoulders and then tugged her out of the hole in the ground.

"I suppose you two plan to get the bells and leave me here." Sasuke said with narrowed eyes.

"Of course not you idiot!" Sakura thwacked Sasuke's head, before punching the ground near it, creating a huge crater, which freed Sasuke and enabled him to move out of the hole. Naruto, in the meantime, stared with his mouth hanging open at Sakura.

"H-How.. did.. how is that.. what..?"

"Oh, it's a long story, forget it. Now how to get those damn bells…" Sakura frowned in concentration.

"Why?" Sasuke said suddenly. Naruto and Sakura looked at him in confusion.

"…Because that's our task and we'll be sent back to the Academy if we don't…" Sakura said.

"No!" Sasuke said irritably, "I meant, why did you help me? You two could have tried to get the bells while I was trapped in the ground and there was no way I would have been able to get them before you."

"Well, that's not the meaning of a team stupid! We're in a squad for a reason!" Naruto grinned.

"Yeah!" Sakura smiled. Suddenly, something clicked. "Wait a second…

_Kakashi-sensei spun around, surrounded by a whirlpool of Naruto._

"_Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!" A huge ball of flames blossomed out from Sasuke's mouth._

"…Naruto you're a genius!" Sakura enveloped Naruto in a huge hug.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. 'Well there's one I haven't heard before…'

"Erm… gee thanks Sakura!" Naruto's muffled voice was heard. "Um… what did I do again?"

Sakura released Naruto and smiled, her eyes in battle mode. She gestured to Naruto and Sasuke.

"Gather round."


	5. Together

**Hi everyone, here's a new chapter for you. My recommended tracks for this chapter are 'Strong and Strike' for the first part (one of the best fight tracks ever) and 'I Said I'm Naruto' for the middle part. Enjoy, and please review! All feedback welcomed!**

**Banglamiss: Haha don't feel bad! Thank you for all your support :) Yes, that is a very valid point, I just find her ridiculous strength so awesome that I had to include it. Since Sakura's strengths in this story are really mostly Naruto's from the real anime, and then just her super-strength added in (because she doesn't really have anything else cool in the anime...), I think there is some room for her to improve, considering how unbelievably strong Naruto becomes in the anime. ****But I will be including some more scenes focussing on Sasuke's awesomeness (although I don't really like him) in the near future so Sakura doesn't seem too perfect. Hope you like this one! ;)**

Half of the sun was beneath the horizon when Kakashi emerged into the clearing with a yawn. 'So they escaped.' He noted the two empty holes in the ground, now obliterated by a large crater. 'Sakura must have got free somehow and then punched the ground to free Sasuke. Maybe they're clocking on…' Kakashi thought quizzically. He heard the sound of shuriken whizzing through the air. 'Ah, here we are.' As before, he allowed the shuriken to bury themselves in him.

This time, it was Naruto who emerged into the clearing and witnessed the transformation of Kakashi-sensei's body into a log.

"Oh Naruto, didn't I tell you not to be obvious?" He said, grabbing Naruto's head. "And the same trick which didn't work the first time is not going to work the second!" he said, grabbing the head of the second Naruto, who was flying towards Kakashi from above. Suddenly, he felt the clone's hand latch onto his arm. 'What's he playing at? Is he trying to stop me from shaking him off?' Kakashi got ready to toss the clone away, but suddenly, he felt himself lifted into the air. 'What?!' The first Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and the second one suddenly began spinning him round and round, repeating Kakashi's own trick on him. Kakashi tried to break free, but he could not. 'How can Naruto be so strong?'

Suddenly, realization hit him, but too late. At the same time as 'Naruto' disappeared in a cloud of dust to reveal Sakura, she released Kakashi, facing him downwards, so that the immense momentum brought him crashing into the ground. Before he could even blink, the intense heat of flames surrounded him in a blaze, totally paralyzing him.

As the flames subsided, the three genin approached the bruised and battered body of Kakashi-sensei slowly. However, it did not transform into a log, and Sakura was soon close enough to snatch the bells from Kakashi-sensei's hand.

"Very impressive!"

The team gasped and turned around to see Kakashi-sensei emerging from the woods, totally unscathed.

"It's too bad it was just a shadow clone you defeated."

The clone suddenly disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

The three ninjas hung their heads in despair. However, Sakura noticed with a frown that the bells she was holding in her hands had not disappeared.

"However, since I foolishly entrusted my shadow clone with the bells, you have accomplished your task." Kakashi closed his eyes in a wide smile.

Sakura and Naruto's faces lit up with delight and Sasuke smirked. Sakura and Naruto high fived each other. "Oh yeah!"

"However, you will remember that there are three of you, and only two bells. Since you all worked together to take the bells from me, you must now decide yourselves which one of you will be sent back to the Academy."

Sakura and Naruto's faces fell in dismay, and Sasuke's lips formed a line.

"Well, I'll give you two minutes to make your decision, and then I'll be back." Kakashi waved at the three and strolled into the trees.

"You two take them. I'll stay behind." Naruto said shakily. "After all, I'm the weakest link." He said with a weak smile.

"Don't be stupid! There's no way I'm leaving you behind, I don't care if I have to go back to the Academy! We're a team." Sakura said confidently.

Sasuke looked hard at Sakura and nodded.

"But.." before Naruto could say another word, Kakashi-sensei emerged from the trees.

"So, have you made your decision?"

All three of them nodded.

"Ok, the one who is going back to the Academy, raise your hand."

Three hands rose up straight.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Well in that case," he sighed, "all of you… Pass!"

"Huh?" Sakura and Naruto stared in confusion and Sasuke frowned.

"Yup, that's right, you all pass! It seems that you managed to understand what the point of this test was. There is a reason that genin are organized into three-man squads, and you seem to have exploited that very well."

"Teamwork!" Sakura grinned.

"Yes. And not only that, but you also passed my last test, which was to see if you knew one of the central principles of a shinobi – never leave your comrade behind. So, I guess all that remains to be said is, well done! And I'll see you tomorrow for our first mission." He winked at the three genin and then vanished without a trace.

"Hell yeah!" Sakura and Naruto high-fived once more. Suddenly, a loud rumble echoed through the clearing.

"I could really use some food." Naruto said weakly, patting his stomach. "How about ramen?" he said perking up.

Sakura laughed. "Ichiraku's it is!"

Sasuke watched as they walked, laughing, out of the clearing. Suddenly, Sakura turned around to face Sasuke.

"Sasuke are you coming or what?"

Sasuke's eyes widened. He caught up with them at a slightly faster pace than normal.

"Yeah, but only because my house is this way." he said defensively.

"Okay then." Sakura laughed.

But when the three reached Ichiraku's, Sasuke did not think before following the other two inside.

* * *

"So how was it?" An old man wearing a white hat with a red insignia on it raised a quizzical eyebrow at Kakashi.

"Outstanding." Kakashi replied. Sarutobi smiled. "You've taught her some very high level jutsu! And that monstrous strength…"

The Sandaime nodded. "It will be important for her to be able to defend herself now that I have persuaded the elders to let me take her out of that cocoon in Suna. There are many people who want to control what she has inside of her and will go to great lengths to obtain it and use it against the village. That is the reason that the elders decided to hide her in Suna. However, that is no life for a child, and if I had known that they had sent her there to be practically imprisoned in the name of the village's safety, I would have sought her out a long time ago. Her father made an immense sacrifice in order to save this village, and, though we revere him for saving this village from the beast, it had unfortunate repercussions on the poor girl, who lost parents and gained an internal demon that has alienated her from everyone else. That is why I am determined to do my best to alleviate the difficulties and solitude she must experience."

"Does she know?"

"What? Of the Nine-tailed Leopard? No, naturally not. I think she has sensed though, sometimes, that she has chakra reserves that are far beyond the normal level. That is what has enabled her to master jutsu such as the Multi Shadow Clone jutsu so easily. But it is not only the demon that makes her talented! As the daughter of the Fourth Hokage, it is not surprising that she has shown real promise from the very beginning, particularly in terms of her chakra control. Her ability to focus a huge amount of chakra into a tiny amount of space is what gives her that inhuman strength."

Kakashi nodded, understanding.

"But enough about that. How was the test itself?"

"As I said, outstanding. The squad understood the aim of the task very well, or at least implemented it in their performance. And, I have a feeling that she was highly instrumental in this, seeing as Naruto does not have the brains to think it up, and Sasuke is a real lone-ranger."

The Hokage nodded gravely. "Since the Uchiha clan massacre, when everyone he held dear to him was slaughtered by his own brother, whom he admired the most, Sasuke has become reclusive and dark. Nobody can blame the boy, considering all he's been through, but I do not want his fixation on revenge against Itachi to lead his life for him. Unlike Sasuke, Sakura has a natural inclination to work with and help others, and has seemingly in-built team spirit. That is why I put them on the same squad. I am hoping that she will rub off a little on Sasuke, and help him to open up a little."

Kakashi nodded.

"Well thank you very much for reporting to me, Kakashi. Please keep me updated on their progress."

Kakashi gave a brief nod. "Of course, Lord Hokage." And he vanished, leaving the old man alone in his office.


	6. Shinobi

Sakura whistled to herself as she walked down the road towards the bridge where Kakashi-sensei had instructed the team to meet to begin their first mission. As she neared, she saw Sasuke leaning against the bridge, his arms crossed with his usual expression of general distaste.

'Dammit,' she thought, glaring at him, 'I should have got here first.' She walked over into the middle of the bridge casually. Sasuke's eyes followed her emotionlessly.

"Good morning to you too!" she said flippantly. Sasuke simply continued to look at her uninterestedly. She stared back at him defiantly. After a few seconds, Sakura noticed that Sasuke had not blinked in a really long time. Her eyes began to water but she refused to let herself blink. She continued to look belligerently at Sasuke. Her eyes continued to water. Sasuke simply looked back at her.

"Sakura," he finally said, with a smirk.

"What?" she spat out.

"You're crying."

"Shut up bitch!" Sakura cried, while gulping as the water overflowed from her eyes down to her cheeks.

Then, Naruto appeared, running onto the bridge from the other side.

"Hey guys- wait, Sakura what's wrong?"

"Shut up Naruto!" Sakura said, her eyes fixed on Sasuke. Sasuke, however, turned to look at Naruto.

"HA! I WON! I DID IT!" Sakura cried triumphantly, finally allowing herself to blink repeatedly.

Sasuke turned back to her with a raised eyebrow.

"You looked away! That means I win!"

"Win what?"

"That staring contest!"

"What staring contest?"

"The one we were just having! Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"ARGH SASUKE! I'M GONNA OBLITERATE YOU!" Sakura threw her fist at Sasuke. Sasuke suddenly remembered her ridiculous strength and his eyes widened in anticipation of the pain he was about to experience. However, before Sakura's fist made contact, she was stopped midair by Kakashi-sensei.

"Now now, what did we learn about teamwork yesterday?"

Sakura just glared at him. "You're late sensei. _Again._"

"Ah yes, sorry about that. A black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long route here." Kakashi said casually, impervious to Sakura's menacing tone.

All three of the students twitched.

"But, on the bright side, I do have your very first mission for you!"

Sakura's face brightened. "What are we doing? Are we chasing down a supervillain? Or maybe transporting a top-secret document? Or saving the village from enemies!"

"Well, it's not any of those things, but it is a top priority task for the village that we need to know is in capable hands."

"You got it!" Sakura saluted Kakashi-sensei with a wide grin and a thumbs-up. Naruto grinned as well, and Sasuke gave a brief nod.

* * *

"THIS IS THE SUPER IMPORTANT TASK YOU WERE TELLING US ABOUT?!" Sakura stared incredulously at the three dogs in front of them, whose leashes Kakashi-sensei was holding out to them.

"Animal care is one of the most important jobs in the village, and these dogs' owners want to know that their dogs have been walked properly."

"Gah." Sakura snatched a leash from Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke took one, rolling his eyes irritably. Naruto picked up the last leash grudgingly.

"Well, I'll see you later! And I'd better have good reports from the owners!" Kakashi disappeared, leaving behind three very annoyed genin.

Sakura stomped down the road, her dog following in a docile manner. Naruto tried to follow, but his dog refused to move.

"Come on, puppy! Who's a good boy?" Naruto tried. "Oh for god's sake you stupid dog." The dog got up and began to walk determinedly in the other direction. "No! No! I'm sorry! I didn't mean that! Come back! This way!" Naruto tried in vain to tug the dog in the other direction, but was eventually vanquished by the dog and pulled away from Sasuke and Sakura.

Sakura rolled her eyes and turned around and carried on marching. "You can take another route Naruto." She called back and continued to storm down the road. Sasuke kept up with her with long strides. Glaring at Sasuke from the corner of her eyes, she began to walk faster.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows. "You really want to do this again?"

"Do what?" she asked, jogging lightly.

"Race." Sasuke said, matching her pace.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Sakura said sprinting down the road.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Fine then, if that's how you want to play it. I'll still beat you."

"Beat me at what, Sasuke?" Sakura taunted, smirking at Sasuke.

Suddenly, a force stopped both of them. They looked up to see Kakashi-sensei holding them by their heads.

"Sakura! Sasuke! What on earth are you doing?! I told you to walk those dogs, not drag them across the floor behind you!"

Sakura and Sasuke then remembered the poor animals and turned around to see them dusty and whimpering on the ground.

"And where is Naruto?"

Sakura looked at Sasuke. They both gulped guiltily.

"He went another way…" Sakura tried.

Kakashi-sensei raised an eyebrow. "Did he? Or did you leave him behind?"

Sakura looked at the floor.

"Wasn't one of the main shinobi principles not to leave your comrade behind?"

Sasuke looked sullenly at the ground.

Kakashi sighed. "You obviously weren't ready for a mission of such importance. We'll have to try something else. First, go and find Naruto and then report back here." He vanished.

With a sigh, Sakura and Sasuke went to find Naruto.

Eventually, they had found him trying to climb a tree to rescue his dog, who had climbed up it.

"I don't believe this." Sakura said incredulously. Sasuke sighed in annoyance.

Sakura shut her eyes in resignation and walked to the tree. She put her arms around it and uprooted it, leaning it down towards the ground until it was low enough for Naruto to grab the dog.

Then, they walked back to the place where Kakashi-sensei had told them to regroup and sat them down.

Several hours later, Naruto was sprawled across a log with drool coming out of his mouth, Sakura was banging her head against a tree trunk and Sasuke was staring murderously at the floor.

Finally, Kakashi-sensei appeared. Sakura jumped up and began screaming and gesticulating wildly. Sasuke glowered at him threateningly. Naruto rubbed his eyes and yawned as he began to wake up.

"Oh calm down." Kakashi-sensei said dismissively. "You deserved to be punished for the mess you made of that mission." He was answered with three death glares. "Anyhow, I have another mission for you, which you won't possibly be able to fail."

* * *

Sakura sighed as she pulled out yet another weed from an extremely badly kept garden.

"This. Is. All. Your. Fault." Sasuke said through gritted teeth.

"Shut up Sasuke you irrelevant ass."

Naruto guffawed as Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"If you hadn't started that race, this would never have happened."

"What race?" Sakura asked cuttingly.

"You are just SO annoying!"

"Hey quieten down out there and get to work!" they heard a shout from inside the house attached to the garden they were tidying.

"Hmph!" Sakura and Sasuke turned up their noses and returned to their weeds.

* * *

One week and countless gardens later, Kakashi looked at his team with a wide smile.

"Now that you have accomplished a few simple missions, I think we're ready to move you on to some tougher tasks."

Sakura's face lit up, Naruto grinned widely and even Sasuke looked mildly interested.

"Like what?" Sakura asked excitedly.

* * *

"Sasuke. I'm at Point B." a crackly voice was heard over the radio.

"Sakura. I'm at Point C."

After a long delay was heard, "Naruto. I'm at Point A."

"Naruto you're too slow!" Kakashi-sensei's voice spoke out. "Ok Team 7. Your target has moved! Follow it!"

Three figures zoomed through the forest.

"Ok what's your distance from the target?" Kakashi asked seriously.

"Five metres. I'm ready, just give the signal!" Sakura said.

"So am I." Sasuke said.

"Me too!" Naruto said.

"Ok…. Now!" Kakashi exclaimed.

The three ninja jumped out from behind the trees and closed in on a small cat. Naruto grabbed it.

"I got him! I got him!" However, the cat suddenly sprang out of Naruto's grasp. Sakura face-palmed. Sasuke lunged out and clutched the furry creature in his hands.

"Naruto, you are an idiot." Sakura sighed.

"Took you long enough." Sasuke said.

"HEY!" Naruto cried.

"Ok, Team 7, well done." Kakashi said taking the cat from Sasuke. "Ok, now I don't have another mission for you with me, so we'll all go to the Hokage's office to see what needs to be done."

Sakura's eyes widened. 'The Hokage's office?' She grinned. 'Great! Now I can tell the old man just what I think about all this community service he's making us do and force him to give us a real mission!'

They soon entered the office where the Sandaime sat at his desk.

"Good morning, Lord Hokage." Kakashi said, bowing. "I had no orders for a further mission, so we came here to see if anything needs to be done."

"Ah, let me see what I have here. Available missions include babysitting the chief counselor's three year old son, helping his wife to do the shopping, digging up potatoes in-"

"No!" Sakura interrupted loudly, wrinkling her nose and shaking her head. "I want a real mission! Something challenging and exciting, not all this housekeeping crap!"

Sasuke and Naruto stared at Sakura, amazed at her lack of respect.

'She does have a point though…' Sasuke thought.

"Sakura! Don't be so rude!" Kakashi-sensei admonished.

The Sandaime frowned. "Listen Sakura, all kinds of requests come into our village every day, from baby sitting to assassinations. These requests are carefully recorded, analysed and then ranked A, B, C or D, depending on their difficulty. Shinobi are also ranked in different levels of skill and experience, Hokage at the top, then Jounin, then Chunin and then Genin at the bottom. We select the requests and assign them to ninja who have the appropriate skill and experience, and if the mission is successful, we receive a fee that supports our village, and our work. Since you are untried Genin, just starting down the shinobi path, you are given D-level assignments of course."

Suddenly the old man looked up to see Naruto turned away from him talking loudly about ramen to Sasuke and Sakura, who were elbowing each other determinedly whilst staring at the wall as if it were their worst enemy.

"Listen!" His voice boomed out authoritatively. Naruto shut his mouth and wrinkled his nose and Sakura turned her angry eyes towards the Hokage.

"Gah stop lecturing! You're always doing that! I'm a ninja now and I want a _real _ninja mission!" Sakura said, turning away from the old man petulantly.

Kakashi face-palmed. 'I'm going to be hearing about this later.'

But contrary to expectations, the Hokage let out a deep-throated chuckle.

"Ah, you're a ninja are you? And you want a real mission? Well so be it."

Sasuke's eyes widened and Sakura's face lit up as she turned hopefully to the Hokage.

"I'm going to give you a C-rank mission. You'll be bodyguards on a journey."

"Really? You're the best old man!" Sakura gave him a thumbs-up. "Who are we guarding? Is it like.. a prince? Or a really important counselor? Or-"

The Sandaime cut in. "Don't be so impatient. I'm going to bring him in now." He gestured to one of the guards standing at the entrance to the room. "Bring in our visitor."

Team 7 turned with wide eyes to the door. It slid open slowly and an old man holding a bottle of sake walked out.

"What the…" he said, his voice slurred. "A bunch of snot nosed kids?! And you, the runt with the idiotic look on your face – do you honestly expect me to believe you're a ninja?"

Naruto let out a guffaw. "Who's the runt with the idiotic look on his face?" Then he saw Sasuke and Sakura look at him sideways and he realized that they were both taller than him.

"HEY! I'LL DEMOLISH YOU!" he ran at the client, to be held back by Kakashi-sensei.

"You can't attack the client, Naruto. That's not how it works."

Sakura face-palmed.

"I am Tazuna, a master bridge builder and I must return to my country. I'm building a bridge there that'll change our world and I expect you to get me there safely, even if it means giving up your life."

The team nodded.

"Ok, Team 7, now that you have your mission, you may depart. Regroup tomorrow at the gates of the village to embark on the journey. Make sure you have everything you need with you." the Hokage commanded.

The team nodded and filed dutifully out of the room to return to their own homes to prepare for the next day's journey, leaving the bridge builder behind with the Hokage, looking after them doubtfully.


End file.
